There's a type of reply-guy that crawls out of the woodwork when I post anything that might inspire others to take action, and they're deceptively insidious.

Regardless of the topic, they sound like this:

Alice: I don't own a gun because they're for killing and I'm not a fan of killing.
Bob: Then only the bad guys will have guns.

Alice: I deleted my Facebook account.
Bob: If the good people leave then the bad guys win.

Alice: I'm openly queer so others know they're not alone.
Bob: You'll make yourself a target.

In every instance, they defend the shitty state of things by discouraging action and change. It's a reply that is designed to support the default, the current power structure. It's a type of reply meant to de-fang movements.

I've posted about this before, but apparently it bears repeating. Fighting for something takes energy. Change takes sustained energy and momentum. These types of interactions sap energy. They're not posting anything openly disagreeable, they're just dropping little doubt caltrops, little concern anchors—making it harder to keep fighting, harder to gain momentum.

If you're about to jump into a thread and concern troll, don't. I'm fucking sick of it. The rest of us don't have the time or energy to drag your dead weight along.

#ReplyGuys #Concern #Trolling #Change

@alice This perfectly captures the subtle yet damaging tactics of concern trolling. These "what-aboutism" and "devil's advocate" replies serve as veiled attempts to uphold the status quo by chipping away at the resolve of those striving for change. Every movement faces resistance, but these passive-aggressive interactions can be some of the most draining. Let’s call them out and keep moving forward.

#CallOutConcernTrolls #MomentumMatters #SupportChange #EnergyForAction #NoDeadWeight

@Miguelbrasil @alice IMO it's a pathetic defense mechanism – someone feels called out because someone else is doing something, so they trot out all the excuses they have for inaction.

Others are victims of the information war who haven't realized that their helplessness is constantly encouraged.

When people concern troll me or wet-blanket my plan IRL I hear, "I'm afraid I could never do that because..."